United States

Data Protection Commission fines telecoms firm €5,000

Telecoms company, Yourtel, has been fined €5,000 for making unsolicited telephone calls to two homes, urging them to switch their business. The company was prosecuted by the Data Protection Commissioner (the DPC) after it failed to respect requests not to ring the individuals concerned again. The prosecution shows, once again, that the DPC treats offences in relation to electronic marketing extremely seriously, and will prosecute offenders.

The company pleaded guilty to two charges under the e-Privacy Regulations 2011, which prohibit a provider from making marketing calls to someone who has opted out. Four other charges were withdrawn. The Assistant Data Protection Commissioner informed the court that the company had failed to engage with him.

The prosecution serves as a reminder of the importance of properly training and educating staff in respect of their data protection obligations, and engaging with the DPC to address any possible breaches of data protection laws as soon as possible.